Lily turned back to the bar and picked up her drink.
Scott moved in closer once more. On his other side, Nina was deep in conversation with Hank and Connor. “Everything okay?” he asked.
She frowned, a single shallow line forming on her forehead. “I hope so. Mike works for Denton Endicott. I was supposedto babysit Jackson again tonight, but his dad called at the last minute to cancel. When I was there last Friday, Denny came in from his dinner meeting with a black eye.” She set her drink on the bar and turned to face him. “And I just remembered I promised Denny not to say anything to anyone about that, so if you tell anyone, I swear I’ll make you regret it for the rest of your life.”
He might have laughed at the threat, coming from such a sweet-faced young woman. But the vehemence with which she spoke gave weight to the words. “I won’t say a word,” he said. “I promise.” And he wouldn’t ask about Preston Smith, either, who had apparently annoyed her enough that she thought him worth mentioning to Mike. None of Scott’s business.
She picked up her drink again and sipped. “Let’s talk about something else,” she said.
“Shelby made it interesting for us today,” he said. “I was getting worried she wasn’t going to find Pete in time.”
“I had faith in her,” Lily said.
He thought she had looked a little panicked, but whatever. The dog had come through and passed the exam, and that’s all that mattered.
“I know you think I was singling you out, insisting you recertify,” he said. “But we can’t afford to have any of our qualifications questioned. Better to be certain.”
“You’re the boss,” she said. “You don’t owe me an explanation.”
The dismissal hurt, he could admit it. He didn’t like that she thought of him first as “the boss.” “I’m in charge of the avy dog program,” he said. “But we’re all part of the team. It’s important that we get along.”
She sipped her cider, watching him over the rim of the glass. She had almond-shaped eyes with thick lashes. Her gaze struckhim as…troubled. Not what he had expected. “It’s a good team,” she said. “I don’t have any problems with anyone.”
“Good. I don’t want any problems.”
“What do you want?”
The question startled him. It sounded like a challenge. Did she expect him to tell her what he required from her, as a member of his team? But he had given her that spiel her first day on the job. “I want the avalanche dog program to be a success,” he said.
“Because then you’ll be a success. You’ll keep your job.”
“No!” The word came out more sharply than he had intended. She visibly flinched. “If someone is caught in a slide, they’re depending on us to get them out alive,” he added. “That’s the only success that really matters.”
Her eyes grew glossy, as if she was holding back tears. “You’re right,” she said, her voice rough. “Of course that’s what matters most.”
He hadn’t expected so much emotion and had to look away. Awkward silence stretched between them.
“I’m going to head out of here.” Connor clamped one hand on Scott’s shoulder and smiled at Lily. “Have a good night.”
“Good night, Connor.” Lily set her half-finished drink on the bar. Scott was sure she was going to cry off, too, if only to get away from him.
But Nina moved in beside her and shoved a plate piled with chili cheese fries toward her. “Eat up,” she said, and handed Lily a fork. “Or else I’ll devour them all.”
Lily hesitated, then stabbed the fork into the fries. Scott didn’t blame her: the food looked and smelled amazing.
Hank moved over to flirt more with Nina, and Nina shut him down with practiced finesse. Scott said nothing, but continued to watch Lily while trying to appear not to. He told himself heshould leave, but he couldn’t bring himself to do that, any more than he could bring himself to move away from her.
“We should go out somewhere nicer than this,” Hank said. He grimaced. “Someplace quieter, where we can talk.”
“I’m here with my friend Lily,” Nina said. “We’re celebrating a big accomplishment for her today.”
“Lily can come, too,” he said. “And Scott.” He looked across the women to Scott. “You can come out, can’t you?”
“Not tonight,” Scott said. He set his empty beer bottle on the counter. “Some of us have to be at work early in the morning.”
“I’d better go, too,” Lily said. “I can call an Uber to take me back to my place.”
“If you’re sure you don’t mind,” Nina said.
